


i want to be simple with you

by philindas



Series: maybe he's just a man, who means the universe to you [3]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Domestic, F/M, FItz is Tony/Pepper's son, Jemma is Steve/Peggy's daughter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-22
Updated: 2016-05-22
Packaged: 2018-06-10 00:43:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6931009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/philindas/pseuds/philindas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“We’re still trying, but I’m starting to wonder if it isn’t meant to be,” she replies in a soft voice, raising sad eyes to them, shrugging with the ghost of a smile tugging at her lips. “We just really want a baby, and each month it’s like we drift further away from the happiness we had last year when we first considered trying to get pregnant.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	i want to be simple with you

**Author's Note:**

> Just another installment of this verse- it kind of came to mind and I ran with it since it just came flowing out of me for once. Title from a poem.

“Mel, we’re gonna be late!”

Melinda rolls her eyes as she watches the German Shepard puppy, aka the newest member of their family, run around the fenced-in backyard in excitement. About a month ago, Phil had come home with a small bundle of tan and black fur and presented her with a tiny puppy who had immediately licked her entire face in excitement and instant love.

It had been over six months since they’d started trying to have a baby, and so far, it had been six months of disappointment. Melinda had nearly given up- it wasn’t supposed to be this hard to get pregnant, and maybe it wasn’t meant to be. Phil vehemently protested that mindset, and reminded her that they couldn’t give up.

The puppy- named Zephyr- had Melinda falling in love with her instantly. She loved to cuddle, and when Melinda did her morning tai chi, sat and watched her panting, tail wagging excitedly until Melinda finished and knelt down to play with her. Melinda took her for runs, and Zeph loved the park- she was still skittish around other, bigger dogs, but Phil had signed them up for a puppy training class they went to every Saturday.

“Come on baby, Daddy’s going to have a heart attack if we keep him waiting,” she told the puppy fondly, bringing her into the house and shutting the sliding door behind them. She let Zephyr drink from her water bowl before she picked her up, kissing her head as she walked towards the living room, where the puppy’s crate was. “We’re going to a picnic, but we’ll be back tonight, and we’ll take you to the park for the fireworks, okay?”

Melinda didn’t know when she’d started talking to Zephyr like she could understand her, but when her puppy looked at her with big, dark eyes, she couldn’t help but feel like she did somehow. Either way, she liked to narrate their plans so she didn’t feel left out, especially when they had to leave her in the crate for an extended period of time.

Phil came in just as Melinda was locking the cage door, letting Zephyr lick her fingers through the grate, and his hand touched her shoulder as he bent to pet the puppy’s nose. “I feel bad for leaving her, but Steve and Peggy’s picnic will just have too many people for her.”

“It’s just a few hours,” Melinda replied softly, lips curling into a smile as Zephyr’s tongue wrapped around her index finger. “Tony and Pepper are bringing the baby today.”

“Leo’s six weeks now?” he asked, and Melinda nodded, corners of her mouth pulling downwards just slightly. “And god Jemma’ll be a year soon, I can’t believe it.”

“They’re getting so big so fast,” she murmured before standing, sighing as she stretched her back. “I heard Nat and Clint might be there too, they were supposed to be back from their honeymoon last weekend.”

“They went to Budapest, who even knows if they’ll be back this century,” Phil jokes, and Melinda shakes her head in amusement, tugging him up to stand with her, wrapping him in a hug. He let her bury her face in his neck, holding her tight against him as his lips brushed her temple. “I love you.”

Melinda didn’t reply, but she pressed a kiss against his chest through his shirt, and it was enough. “C’mon. Let’s go.”

The ride is easy; Steve and Peggy don’t live far, and as they turn onto their block, can see the red, white, and blue decorations from down the street. “They went all out.”

“Steve does own a car dealership called Captain America Cars,” Melinda replied, lips curled in amusement, and Phil gave her a mock glare as he pulled against the curb. Tony Stark’s ridiculously expensive car was already parked there, and it looked like Nick Fury and Maria Hill were already there as well. Phil and Melinda got out of the car and headed up the driveway, platter of fruit in hand; they let themselves in, weaving through the house until they got the kitchen, where Peggy had Jemma on her hip and was stirring a pitcher of lemonade with her free hand.

“Melinda, Phil! Oh I’m so glad you could come,” she said once she spotted them, face breaking out into a grin. Melinda set the platter of food on the counter as Phil took Jemma from her, crinkling his face at her and pulling laughter from the little girl as Peggy watched fondly.

“Everything looks great, Peggy,” Melinda told her as Phil brought Jemma outside with him to say hello to everyone. The brunette smiled at her, pulling her into a warm hug as she rounded the island.

“I take it nothing yet?” she asked softly, and Melinda shook her head quickly, ignoring the burning at the back of her eyes as she swallowed. “I’m so sorry, darling. I just know it will all work out, but I know how hard it must be to wait.”

“I just want to be a mom,” Melinda whispers helplessly, voice thick with sadness. “I didn’t think it would be this difficult.”

Peggy doesn’t answer, just pulls her into another hug as Melinda collects herself, closing her eyes against the British woman’s shoulder. They break apart at the sound of footsteps, Melinda wiping below her eyes as Steve steps into the kitchen.

“Everything alright in here?” he asks in that low, concerned voice of his, and Melinda nods quickly, kissing his cheek in hello before she makes her way outside to where everyone was gathered.

Pepper is in the shade, baby wrapped in blue in her arms, smiling happily as she chats with Maria, who’s settled beside her with a drink. Melinda goes to join them, waving at Tony and Fury who are with Phil, who’s blowing bubbles with Jemma and watching her chase them around the yard. Maria stands and pulls a chair up next to Pepper’s, smiling at her.

“Hey Mel, it’s so nice to see you,” she says, hugging her tightly, which Melinda returns. She and Maria had worked together at SHIELD Tech for a while, until she’d moved to head up the research division at Stark Industries about a year ago. They didn’t see each other as much as they used to, but Melinda loved the spunky brunette.

“You look great,” she tells Maria, pulling away to admire the dark blue dress she has on, and Maria smirks.

“Perks of dating the head of an international trading company,” she snarks, pulling a laugh from both the woman as they all settle into their seats. Melinda leans in, kissing Pepper’s cheek and running her fingers over Leo’s head.

“He’s so gorgeous Pepper,” she tells the strawberry blonde softly, watching his fists twitch sleepily. “He looks just like you.”

“He’s getting so big so fast,” Pepper replies, adjusting her arms and looking at Melinda. “Do you want to hold him?”

Melinda nods, taking the sleeping infant into her arms gently, shifting until he was nestled comfortably in her arms. He sighed, stretching out before he settled back down, gurgling in his sleep. “How’s all his breathing going?”

Leo had been born nearly eight weeks early, and had been hooked up to oxygen to help his still-developing lungs; he was perfectly healthy, but still had some issuing breathing because of the lack of oxygen at birth. Pepper nods, reaching over to adjust her son’s sock where it had slipped off his little foot.

“He still needs the breathing treatment every few days, but a lot less than when we first brought him home,” she answers. “And the doctors say he’s growing perfectly and hitting all the age markers so far, so we’re hopeful there isn’t any lasting effects from him being so premature. But if there are, we’re ready for it.”

Maria grasps Pepper’s hand, squeezing gently, and Melinda smiled encouragingly. Leo gave a loud yawn, blinking his eyes open briefly and scanning his surroundings; after a moment though, he closed his eyes and settled back down, as though deciding sleep was a better option than waking up just yet.

“What about you, Mel? And news on the baby front?” Pepper asks, and Melinda shakes her head, running her index finger over Leo’s closed fist.

“We’re still trying, but I’m starting to wonder if it isn’t meant to be,” she replies in a soft voice, raising sad eyes to them, shrugging with the ghost of a smile tugging at her lips. “We just really want a baby, and each month it’s like we drift further away from the happiness we had last year when we first considered trying to get pregnant.”

“Have you considered getting help?” Maria asked, and Melinda nodded, adjusting Leo.

“We made a deal that if we still haven’t had any success by October we’ll go see Dr. Cho,” she replies, sighing. “I’m so scared she’ll tell us we can never have a baby. But we’ve started looking into adoption; we might actually do both, if it’s possible. But if we can’t have a baby of our own, we’ll absolutely try to give a child who needs one a home.”

“You’re going to be wonderful parents, no matter how it happens Mel,” comes a voice behind them, and they all turn to see Natasha walking towards them. She’s suntanned and radiant, newly-wedded bliss dripping off of her as she plops into the seat next to Maria.

“Thank you Nat,” Melinda says, smiling at her friend. “You looks gorgeous, as always.”

“The weather was fantastic,” she replies, a grin spreading across her face. “What we saw of it, anyway.”

“Alright, my son has young, sensitive ears, hush,” Pepper says, a goodnatured smile on her face as she shakes her head at the redhead. “Does anyone know if Bobbi and Hunter are coming today?”

“They’re in the UK visiting Hunter’s family actually- they’ll be home for the Fourth of July picnic though, Bob said,” Natasha replied, stealing a sip of Maria’s drink. “I think Wanda’s stopping by too, if Vision doesn’t have a thing.”

“Does he ever actually have a thing?” Melinda asks, raising an eyebrow, and Nat shrugs with a laugh, smiling as Clint brings her a beer, dropping a kiss on her mouth as she takes the bottle.

“Gross,” Maria says, stealing her drink back from Nat and taking a sip. Melinda feels a hand on her shoulder and looks up at Phil, who’s smiling down at her with warmth in his eyes.

“Want a beer?” he asks, and she nods, smiling as he sets the bottle he’d brought on the table and smooths his hand gently over Leo’s already-unruly curls. “This kid can sleep through anything, even Steve trying to grill properly.”

“I heard that!” Steve calls, and Melinda shakes her head fondly, meeting Phil’s mouth when he leans down to kiss her.

“Go help Steve with the grill before he lights himself or Tony on fire,” she murmurs against his lips, grinning at the laugh he gives against her mouth, warming her from the toes up. “Thank you for the beer, babe.”

He just kisses her forehead, going to help Steve with the burgers as Leo starts to wake up, stretching his arms out and yawning, mashing his lips together and whining softly. Melinda placed him back in Pepper’s waiting arms, helping her adjust the blanket over her shoulder as she set herself up to nurse the infant.

“I cannot believe it took you guys four years to get together when he looks at you like that,” Maria says, shaking her head as Melinda picks up her beer, taking a swig. “The guy has like, the definition of heart eyes whenever he looks at you.”

“That might be overstating it,” Melinda starts, but Natasha shakes her head, sitting forward.

“You may not see it because you’re used to it, but Mel that guy is so in love with you it practically radiates off him every time he so much as looks in your direction. I’d be envious if I was a lesser woman,” the redhead tells her, and Melinda feels her cheeks flush, heart thumping happily in her chest. “There’s no way all the love between you two won’t make a baby someday. I guarantee it.”

Melinda looks over at where Phil is now manning the grill, beer in one hand and spatula in the other, laughing at something Tony is saying, and she feels her heart somehow swell even further with love for her husband. He glances over at her, as though sensing her gaze, and gives her a wide, happy grin, crinkling the corners of his eyes and making his blue eyes glow even more, happiness radiating from every pore. She blows him a kiss, watching as he mimed catching it and placing it in his back pocket; she rolled her eyes, holding her beer to her chest, and she knows her friend’s words are true.

It would just take a little time, a lot of love, and plenty of hope.


End file.
